Beer Bottling Supplies: Selection Basics for a Good Homebrewing Experience

Beer bottling supplies should be easier to purchase, but everything is sold separately and in such widespread compartments that it would be nice to have everything in one package. But they're sold separately for good reason: some items need to be purchased once while others such as beer bottle caps need to be disposed and can't be reused. Likewise, plastic beer bottles with reusable twist-off caps are mechanically different than glass beer bottles with pressure caps, and many times the choice is personal. So, with the following list and over the next couple of pages, I hope to bring together all the necessary beer bottling supplies in this one convenient section of the site - right down to the beer bottle opener!



So you've waited several weeks or even months to brew your perfect homebrewed beer, and now it's time to bottle that delicious poison for storage, sharing, cooling, and convenient drinking! And you'd think it would be easy to just bottle the stuff, and it kind of is, but before you do so you need to have all your beer bottling supplies ready, sanitized and immediately available. The time you bottle your beer is not the time to decide which beer bottling supplies to purchase, that time is right now! Below, we'll explore all the necessities to correctly bottle your home brew. This section will cover the following topics:


1 - Beer Bottles: Plastic or Glass?
2 - Beer Bottle Caps: Are There Any Differences?
3 - Beer Bottle Cappers: From Inexpensive to Overpriced
4 - Beer Growlers: For the Half Gallon at a time Drinkers
5 - Beer Bottle Trees: Nice to Have for keeping your Bottles Clean
6 - Auto Siphon: Don't have a Spigot? You'll need This
7 - Beer Bottle Openers: I know you don't need a lesson on this, but let's have fun anyway!

1 - Beer Bottles: Plastic or Glass? Both plastic or glass beer bottles have their advantages and disadvantages. Both are easy to clean and sanitize, but plastic beer bottles made from food grade PET polyethylene terephthalate plastic offers the convenience of twist-off caps, amber color for UV light filtration, are priced in the same range as glass bottles, and don't break (as easily) if dropped. On the other hand, glass beer bottles have a more traditional feel, similar UV protection, and capping is easy enough with the right materials, but their main advantage is that they hold CO2 longer than plastic bottles, and therefore keep beer fresher for longer periods of time. Both are important enough to have their own page.



Glass Beer Bottles


Plastic Beer Bottles


2 - Beer Bottle Caps: Are There Any Differences? Can someone tell me why there are so many different types? Apparently not, so I did the research and provided some answers here. You're welcome, that'll be one homebrewed beer please.



3 - Beer Bottle Cappers: From Inexpensive to Overpriced Beer bottle cappers should be easy and inexpensive, but with a range in price from about $12 to $45, the range isn't so high that upgrading will make it that much more of a financial sacrifice, but is it worth it, or will the cheaper ones work just fine?




4 - Beer Growlers: For the Half Gallon at a time Drinkers I remember for a brief period in the early to mid 1990s when Olde English 800 came out with a 64 Ounce growler available at any convenience store in the city (New York). Man, those were the days, cheap disgusting beer in immense glass jugs, what a great time to be young. Now, I can revisit the golden era with these more mature half gallon growlers and fill it with a more mature brew!


5 - Beer Bottle Trees: Nice to Have for keeping your Bottles Clean Not only are beer bottle trees great for keeping your bottles clean, they're also awesome to look at (if you like ugly stuff)! They're also great for sanitizing your bottles and keeping them in a safe place as you get your beer ready for bottling.


6 - Auto Siphon: If Your Fermenter doesn't have a Spigot, you'll need This An auto siphon is an inexpensive apparatus to get your beer into your bottle. Many good kits have them, but adding an inexpensive one to your bottling supplies will really improve your bottling experience.


7 - Beer Bottle Openers: I know you don't need a lesson on this, but let's have fun anyway! I know you're not dumb! But let's have some fun with this. Let's explore and enjoy traditional bottle openers all the way to really stupid, funny and ridiculously expensive baller bottle openers!





After gathering your Beer Bottling Supplies and pouring your beer into your bottles, please visit my home page for more fun beer topics!

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